My Reflection on Unit 3 & 4: Teaching Writing and the Reading-Writing Connection & Developing a Philosophy of Writing for Teaching

There are different purposes for writing. We write to entertain, inform, educate, report, advertise, persuade. While we write for different purposes we also cater for different audiences. Our audiences can range from general audience to adults to infants as young as in kindergarten. The purpose and audience will determine the complexity of the content, language and format or type of writing. 

As a teacher I should be able to introduce different learning activities for each genre to help my students learn. Each activity should be fun and engaging to help maintain students interest. Even in the smaller grades students can learn how to write the different genres according to their grade level. 

My Philosophy of Teaching Writing

As a teacher, I think that students learn through everyday play and exploration in a safe and stimulating environment. Time spent playing, talking, listening and interacting helps students learn the skills he needs for life, like communicating, thinking, reading, writing and problem-solving. Students learn best by actively engaging with their environment. This includes: observing things, watching faces and responding to voices, listening to sounds, making sounds and singing, reading, writing, exploring – for example, putting things in her mouth, shaking things and turning things around, asking questions – for example, ‘But why?’, experimenting with textures, objects and materials like water, sand or dirt, doing things that stimulate all of her senses – touch, taste, smell, vision and hearing. Students also learns by being involved in their learning. This could be as simple as: choosing books to read and writing about their interest. If my students has the opportunity to try lots of different activities, it gives them lots of ways to learn and chances to practice what they learning (raisingchildren.net.au, 2016). As a teachers, I can intervene in this process by supporting learning. Providing activities and lessons for them to learn and build on their knowledge. Praising and encouraging them to work hard will keep them interested and help them feel good. The chief goals I have for students are for them to be able to write different genres which includes descriptive, persuasion, exposition, narrative and poetry, also, for them to have appreciation and love for each genres. The action I can take to implement students intentions is using creative ways to teach students and provide activities that would grab their attention to want to participate, learn and love to write.